Fall 2017!

Control (HC version)

Control (PB version)

Catalyst (Control #2)

Among the Shadows: 13 Stories of Darkness & Light

Friday, July 23, 2010

Title Envy

Okay, I've seen a lot of blog posts lately about book covers. A good cover can lure us in for a good (or bad) read, or capture so much about a book. Or not.

But what about book titles?

Take Twilight, for instance. Gorgeous title. Okay, gorgeous cover, too. But the original name, Forks, just didn't cut the mustard. Heck, it couldn't even squeeze the mustard, either.

Giving my manuscript a title isn't easy for me. Just think. It's the first thing an agent will see when you send them a query. It's the first words a potential reader will read when they see your book on a shelf, or online. It has to mean EVERYTHING. And often I hear that even after you've got that perfect title, a publisher might make you change it anyway!

So forget about covers for a while. What about titles? Have you ever bought a book because the title was just too delicious?

It's true that titles are what initially draws us to books. But I don't read a book solely for its title. I leaf through it, skim the table of contents, read the beginning, sample text and prose in and around the middle, then, if it still has my interest, it's mine! :)

Hey, I just posted this week's Friday Friends on my blog; it's you, and it's the cool diagram you did on writers' sensitivities. Let's see what my readers think of your medical analyses :)

Titles draw me in too. But don't get too worried. Some editor or agent wasn't worried about Meyer's boring writing style, repetitiveness, or bad title. She still got a lucrative book contract and a title change. I guess they couldn't do anything about the other stuff. She had the right premise at the right time.

I love some titles that are longer and just reeeeeally interesting to me for some reason. Examples: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter; Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned; The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner; Let the Great World Spin. It isn't always practical to have names like that (and titles like The Passage or Shiver or Mist work also), but titles that are poetic really stick with me.

Hi Lydia... just love your working title. Good titles are extremely important as they will first attract an agent (we wish) and then will interest an editor (we hope) and finally will lure readers (we pray).Though I am attracted by unusual and interesting titles, I go through few random pages to see if I will like the book.

Twice I've chosen books by 'delicious' titles. Twice I've been disappointed.I shy away from long titles because I figure if it's too wordy the book will be too wordy.I like to have a working title and then allow the piece to change it when I'm done.

I actually love that working title. I think I'd pick up the book if I saw it in the bookstore.

I'm really bad at coming up with titles, so I'm totally in awe of people who can come up with amazing ones. The Forest of hands and teeth was one book that I keep on looking at because of the title. It's the same with music titles. Regina Spektor has some of the most amazing titles that can be simple yet are the essence of the whole song.

I hate to admit it, but I'm terrible with remember titles of many books I read. I remember my favorites, but sometimes when I pick a book, I look at the cover, the author and then flip it over to see the blurb.

My poor memory makes it hard for me to chat on the Amazon forums because I'll try to respond to someone's plea for a good book with, "Uh, yeah, I read one just like what you're looking for, but I can't recall the title."

That said, I had a hard time coming up with my title. I think it fits, but it's also not as original as I wanted.

Yes! Today in fact I was browsing the library and a title caught my eye. I was actualling brainstorming on the way home about some and the ones that would make me want to read that book--anything with beaches or friends or love:))

Titles don't get as much rec as they should, but they're definitely an important part of the package. I didn't read "A Great and Terrible Beauty" until this year, but I remembered it from when it first came out because of the title. The book cover didn't do much for me, but the title stuck.

I'm no good at titling things, which is probably why most of my WIP are untitled or have a word/phrase tacked onto them as a working title - just so people know what I'm talking about (using Untitled Story 5 isn't very helpful). :P

For me, deciding to pick up a book and read the jacket is a combination of the title and the front cover. I think I'm pretty good at naming my books...in fact I love naming so much I give all my chapters titles as well. :)

Yep a Title can say a lot and have absolutely little to do with content. And, specific covers often catch one's eye (gory)and not always for the right reasons.I'm a must read blurb and first page at least and rapid browser of middle, if it don't grab me by the throat it goes back on the shelf.

Must say I love it when authors' come up with superb "one word" titles that leap off the bookshelf and say "buy me", (you know what I am) "my title reveals all".

Example: Mo Hayder's Tokyo - scary thriller.

So too with "two word" titles.Examples: Harry's Game by Gerald Seymour - Lion's Game by Nelson Demille. Both terrorist based novels.

Long titles smack of lazy attitude to thinking succintly! Though seemingly obligatory in ruddy category romance novels: airing ludicrous in some titles.

I think titles can make or break a book - but less so than the cover, perhaps. I don't think I've ever bought a book because of its title but I may have put it down because of it. I hope that makes sense!

Titles are tough because they can affect sales. They definitely can draw me in as a reader. I've been struggling with the title of a book of mine that is going out on submission to editors. The title can grab an editor or agent as well which makes me want to get it just right!

Yes, a good title can totally hook me. (And your mock title is hilarious!)

Titles are funny things, aren't they? A good title might seem like it must have been so obvious/easy to come up with--until you try and name a book! The title of my last manuscript hit me right away and I still like it; this time, I'm less certain.

I not only pick a book based on the title, but on the looks of the book cover too! Shallow maybe, but true. Well, I also have to be interested in what the jacket flap says. Maybe not too shallow after all!

I've definitely jumped on the title bandwagon! When I see something that has such a great title I can't help look away! That's how I picked up some of my favorite books, just based on the title alone, isn't it fun!!!

For me titles are important but at the beginning I stick with the major goal or role of the MC, The Traveler is based on an alternate world where people travel... simple enough. Getting to Peloria is as simple as it sounds, my MC getting to peloria and last but not least THE COLLECTOR is about a serial killer who collects his victims. I'm not saying they're going to stick but I am saying I keep my options open!

Titles draw me in, too, and I admit I've had many moments of title envy. A catchy title will definitely make me give the summary a closer read, but I've never bought a book depending solely on the title.

It's so difficult to find that perfect title for your WiP; I've found it helpful to make a list and then slowly narrow it down.

I used to refuse to title my poems because I didn't want to take away from the poem itself...and then I realized the title can do so much work for you. It can provide the setting, it can generate the mood, it can tell you about the narrator or the reader, it can contain the one easily overlooked thing that's the key to everything. Titles are almost my favorite part now.

I love short story titles, which seem to me to be a little...harder, harsher. "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love," "For Esme - With Love and Squalor," "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz." Maybe my favorite short story title: Alice Munro's "Who Do You Think You Are?"--also the name of the collection in which it appears, but only in Munro's native Canada. The collection is titled "The Beggar Maid" everywhere else...and I kind of dig that Canada was not afraid to print a book with that question on the cover.

Medical Disclaimer

IN NO WAY SHOULD THE CONTENTS OF LYDIAKANG.BLOGSPOT.COM BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALL CONTENT ON THE SITE IS GENERAL IN NATURE, AND PROVIDED FOR FICTIONAL SCENARIOS ONLY. NEVER DISREGARD MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY IN SEEKING IT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ OR MAYBE MIS-INTERPRETED ON THIS WEBSITE, OR ANY LINKS RELATED TO IT.

The materials provided on this site are for informational purposes and are not intended for use as diagnosis or treatment of a health problem or as a substitute for consulting a licensed medical professional.

Check with a physician if you suspect you are ill, or believe you may have one of the problems discussed on this website, as many problems and disease states may be serious and even life-threatening.

Also note that medical information changes rapidly. Therefore, some information may be out of date, inaccurate, or erroneous. Neither this blog/website or it author(s) will be responsible for the results or consequences of any attempt to use or adopt any of the information presented on this website.